Chai Latte Cupcakes with Honey Icing

This is what happens when I buy too much chai tea.

I shop every day, and I bring at least three baskets of groceries home every day. I'm pretty sure (even with the four of us) we don't consume three bags of food every day. It kind of makes sense that by the end of the week my pantry is stuffed to the hinges like Henry VIII at a banquet. So when I found that I had more chai tea than I could drink, I decided to eat it instead. Inspired by gluttony... which is pretty much the story of my life.



Chai Latte Cupcakes with Honey Frosting
Makes 12

For the Cupcakes:
55g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup plain flour
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons chai tea
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Icing:
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 tablespoon honey
about 1/4 cup cream
pinch of salt
Allspice for sprinkling

Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees C. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners and set aside.

Make the Cupcakes: 

Pour the milk into a small saucepan and add the tea. Heat the milk to almost boiling and then turn of the heat and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. Pour the tea infusion through a piece of cheesecloth or fine sieve and reserve the milk, discard the tea. Leave to cool.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of salt. Mix on medium speed until the mixture is slightly coarse and sandy. This takes about 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and vanilla extract. Add the cooled milk-tea mixture and whisk again.

Pour half of the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Beat until just incorporated. Pour in the remaining milk mixture, turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and beat for 1 minutes, until well blended.

Divide the batter between the prepared cups. 

Bake the cupcakes for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pan to cool completely before frosting.

Make the Icing: 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the icing sugar, honey, cream, and salt. Whisk until smooth. Use a butter knife to generously spread the frosting on top of the cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle with just a little allspice.